I. Make the Call

You are a uniform officer on patrol.

You stop a man. He resembles a man you know to be wanted. You know an arrest warrant exists for the man he resembles. The stopped man tells you that he is the brother of the wanted man. But, the resemblance can't be ignored.

Make the call. Arrest him or let him go?

Is he lying? Realistically, do you have the time and resources investigate this claim? Or do you let him go - a huge risk if he is lying.

An arrest warrant creates another paradox in the countless catch-22 situations in frontline policing. An arrest warrant "commands" the arrest of the person named on the warrant. That means no discretion - when an officer finds the named person, the arrest must be made. There is no discretion about letting him go at the street-level. No release - no decision. Bring him to the police station. Violating that "command" is a serious issue - obstruct justice. And, it's negligent because of the potential danger of repeat crime.

But, preventing wrongful arrests is just as important as upholding public safety - the balance between privacy and protection. That's why reasonable grounds of identity has to be proved to make the arrest.

Nature complicates frontline policing. Sometimes, a wanted person has brothers. Brothers resemble each other. When does a resemblance constitute reasonable grounds? When does a resemblance need more investigation?